At the end of the day, it’s just a game. This is not the end of my life if the ball stops bouncing. Isiaha Mike
The city of Scarborough, as they should, is still celebrating the CEBL championship win that the Scarborough Shooting Stars brought back to the city when they defeated the Calgary Surge back in August.
For Isiaha Mike, it was a double victory that night, because not only did he help his team secure the championship in a major way, he was also named the team’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).
I was able to catch up with Isiaha and discuss the win, his MVP status, the game of basketball and what’s next for him.
Tell us about yourself?
I was born and raised in Toronto, moved to Scarborough when I was around eleven, and lived out east ever since. I’m a very family oriented man. I fell in love with basketball at a young age, but didn’t get serious until I was around fifteen. I went to West Hill for high school, and yeah, that’s pretty much it.
Congrats on the championship win! Tell us about your experience in the last game?
It was interesting because I was nervous the whole entire game, especially with what happened the year before where we came so close to winning and then we lost. At the same time, we came back from a very big deficit.
My mind the whole time was – finish the game, finish the game, finish the game, don’t play stupid, don’t do anything stupid to give these guys a chance to win the game. Even with the target score ending, it changes the game, the door is always open for a victory, but once we secured the win it was like, relief.
I didn’t feel super joy until I was hugging my teammates, hugging my coaches, as soon as the buzzer went off, I was in shock.
For you, growing up in Scarborough, did that make the win a little bit more personal to you?
Yeah, for sure. At the home games, there’s so many people that I went to school with that know me, people I’m close with that I haven’t seen in years. Even Pan Am, I grew up playing in Pan Am every single week.
For there to be a professional team in Scarborough and based out of Pan Am for the home games, it meant a lot. I hate to keep reliving last season and that loss, but it made that loss hurt even more, because of how much it meant to me, and how much I know it meant to the community.
Not only did you win the championship, but you were also named finals MVP. How did that feel?
It’s an honour, honestly, but victory is the most important part. Anybody could have won that MVP, but the fact that it was me, it was kind of full circle again, because I played like garbage last season [laughs] so to come back and win in that way, was amazing.
What does MVP mean to you?
Somebody that does it all – sacrifices for their team, does what the team needs, and that doesn’t even have to be points or statistics.
For me, I’d say Kalif Young was our MVP the entire season. Cat Barber is another one of those guys who would be MVP for the whole season, he showed up every game and scored all those points.
Kalif Young’s game goes unnoticed to the average basketball fan, but he does so many things on the court that don’t show up statistically, like his energy, his defence, deflections, and leading the guys out there. Somebody who really knows basketball, if you watch closely, without Kalif Young, we don’t win this championship.
What do you think made this season different from the last?
I don’t think we can have a season like this one, without the one we had last season. We learned a lot. I learned a lot about myself personally, but I know that going into each game, the sting of losing, knowing what it takes to win – I think we were more locked in this year for sure.
Last year, we were kind of the new kids on the block and expected to win. I think the loss kind of humbled us, and taught us a lesson that you just got to go and do it, you got to go and win, nothing is given.
There are a lot of young men out there who aspire to play ball at a professional level like yourself, what would you say are the key components to being successful at this level?
Hard work and put God first – simple.
You have to grind, put the hours in and stay focused. There’s a lot of distractions out there – friends, growing up in the streets, parties, girls, all kinds of stuff.
If this is really what you want, you have to know how to sacrifice and still get the hours in.
As you know, basketball can be discouraging with things such as injuries, losses etc. How do you stay motivated?
Keeping my faith honestly.
At the end of the day, it’s just a game. This is not the end of my life if the ball stops bouncing.
That same hard work and sacrifice that you put into being successful in basketball translates everywhere. I feel like if you’re motivated enough to overcome injury or overcome a loss, it’s all mental. You can’t dwell on the things that suck.
If your children wanted to play basketball, is this a career that you would encourage them to pursue?
For sure, especially if they love it. I don’t want to force them into anything, I think that’s the biggest thing, do what you love.
If they choose basketball, for sure, it’s such a fun sport, the pay is nice, especially if you get to the highest level. Obviously there are things that I don’t know first-hand, so it would definitely be a learning curve for me as well as them, but for sure 100%
How do you stay healthy mentally and physically during the off-season?
Just trying to spend time with family. The joys and little moments that I do have with them.
Currently, who is your favourite team or player?
Favourite team? Come on, Scarborough Shooting Stars.
Favourite player has to be LeBron James, was my whole life growing up. Carmelo Anthony as well.
We all know you as a great and dedicated player, but outside of basketball, what do you like to do?
I like music, spending time with family, playing video games – that’s it honestly.
When you play basketball at such a high level, you become somewhat of a public figure. Do you feel that there are pressures that come with this?
Yeah, I would say so.
It’s kind of hard, you have to just watch what you do a little more, not just for people in the community, but for your career. You kind of have to keep a clean slate, and yeah, just watch what you post. You can’t just repost anything.
Kyrie Irving is an example of a player who has people divided when it comes to being a public figure. Some feel Kyrie can post, say or do whatever in his private time and on his personal accounts, while some feel regardless, he still has endorsements and the public watching, so he should be more mindful. Where do you land on this?
I think there’s a happy medium for sure. The endorsement deals and the people you sign with, they have to know who they’re signing. Kyrie has been this way his whole career.
Kyrie has been finding himself and expressing himself more and more each year, and I feel like he’s never said anything crazy or out of pocket, he’s just being himself and speaking honestly about things he believes in.
I feel like speaking honestly in your beliefs, you should be able to express your beliefs, obviously there’s a line – you can’t be homophobic or racist or things like that. If it falls within the moral guidelines, then it should be okay.
What’s next for you?
I’m just trying to keep the ball bouncing for as long as possible.
Just trying to play at the highest level and continue to climb, hopefully get to the NBA or the Euro league, whichever one makes the most sense for me.
Sky’s the limit after that.
Is there anything you would want people to know?
Keep God first.
Trust in God, it will get you through. There’s been some dark times, I had to make it through, and I didn’t know how.
Honestly, this whole basketball thing just came out of the blue for me, I started when I was 15, and now I’m playing at one of the highest levels in Europe.
Just kind of caught me by surprise, I had to learn a lot, and grow up in a short span of time, and I feel like without God, I wouldn’t be here – I swear. There’s been a lot of close calls.
Isiaha represents dedication and resilience, the true heart of an MVP. He is also proof that your dreams can start at any age, unexpectedly, at anytime. Greatness has no limits, and with that, I know he continues to inspire and make those around him, as well as the city proud.
One time for the MVP.
